Fashion, beauty and food influencer, Kiarra Illena nearly put her social media audience and the masses into a fashion frenzy when she posted her highly anticipated bridal photos. Since her initial post of her engagement shoot images, the content creator has garnered a collective obsession with what the beauty was going to don for her big day.
Known for her ultra-authentic style POV, Kiarra’s style choices reflected an unbridled trust in herself – a confidence only made perfect through time, lessons, and experimentation.
And with her looks, she did just that. Going a unique route for reach of her major looks, Kiarra wed her husband this July in a custom-made look all the way from Pakistan for their nikkah – a traditional marriage ceremony connected to the Islamic faith. And with her fun and spunky style POV, her husband’s own knack for a good look, their interfaith and interracial marriage, their story made for a viral-worthy hit of love.
Kiarra sat down with Fashion & Beauty Writer Kennedi LéShea for a Black Bride Magazine Exclusive to discuss it all, from love to langas, in an exclusive interview below.
How Her and Her Husband Met:
Kiarra Ilena: So we actually met on Tinder. I was living in San Diego at the time, and there were no prospects in San Diego. I was like, “I’m over it. Maybe I’ll find someone in my hometown.” And we ended up matching. We talked for a bit, and then we kind of just lost contact. Then we matched again on Bumble, and we talked a lot on there, and we actually exchanged numbers. But we stopped talking again. And then the third time’s the charm. We linked up again on Tinder and the first date was amazing. But after that date, I cut things off again. Then a year later, we reconnected, and we were talking for like three months before I met up with him after my best friend’s birthday, and we saw each other every single weekend since. And during COVID, is when we made it official and then we moved in together, like, a year later. And now, here we are.
Kennedi LéShea: So when you met, obviously you noticed that you guys were interracial and that you guys would have the interfaith component. How did you two navigate that?
KI: Honestly, it was a lot of communication. I feel like him being Muslim, it’s more than just religion for him. It’s very cultural. He’s also Pakistani. So, there’s that element too. But luckily, I feel like I was just so blessed for his family to be open-minded. He’s never even asked me to convert. He’s like, ‘If you want to come see how it is, like, come over, come and see how it is.’ But my first time even being in a mosque was when we got married. So, honestly, it was just the conversations that made everything so easy. He is just so open-minded. Even from his family, no one’s asked me, ‘Are you converting?’ I’m honestly very blessed, to be honest. I haven’t had any, like, racist encounters with anyone. The Pakistani community is so welcoming and so loving. We’re both very spiritual people. I believe in Jesus. He believes in Allah. And we still pray. We do religious things together. And I’m just so glad I took the chance because it’s great. I’m having fun.
KL: I love that so much. Now, describe your bridal style in three words for us.
KI: Glam. Extra. Chic.
KL: Most of us have dreamt about our wedding day as little girls and about what the dress is going to look like and the decor. But sometimes, what you dream up as a little girl is very different from what you come out choosing. So, was being a bride something you dreamed of growing up? And if so, how did you envision your bridal style as a little girl, and how did it match up to what it really turned out to be?
KI: It definitely was something that I thought about as a little girl, especially like seeing my mom get married to my stepdad. I always knew I wanted a grand wedding and I wanted it to be in a castle but I didn’t want a white gown, I wanted my gown to be pink when I was younger. I just wanted [it] to be very Barbie-vibes and honestly? That vision is definitely aligning. The extravagance of my vision is still the same. I had pops of pink in my wedding because I just love pink so much.
KL: We love a Barbie mood board! Now, moving into your bridal fashion journey, your engagement photos are everything. It’s actually that’s what made me follow you. I feel like, with bridal, things can get so redundant and brides often feel like they have to wear, you know, something classic or go overly bold. But I don’t think that should be the goal. I believe brides should wear whatever they feel they want to wear, and what makes them feel confident—and that’s what your engagement shoot looks gave me. And he seemed so confident in the pictures too! From his Instagram, he seems very fashion conscious. So, tell me all about the shoot and the process of crafting those looks.
KI: I knew we really wanted to pull from people who inspired us. On the mood board, we had pictures of Michelle and Barack Obama, Vanessa Williams and actors from the 50s and 60s and Old Hollywood. I knew I wanted the pictures to be chic and timeless in a way, but I also wanted them to give editorial and to look like they can be in a magazine and look like art in our home.
Once I found the space and I got my dress from L’Amour Bridal, which is a boutique in downtown LA. We both wanted to really feel like us, and that we were dressing as authentic to us as possible. And we didn’t want it to be boring.
“Shout out to my photographer, Jonathan Macias. His photography style is very editorial, it’s very fun. And he knew how to shoot a plus size body, which was so important. A lot of people don’t think about that. I had no notes when I got my photos back.” – Kiarra
KL: I love that you talked about being plus size, but you know, I feel like that conversation is sometimes so hyperfixated when there’s so many other areas that also can make a bride “different”. And one of those unique things that I love about you is that you’re a blonde!
In terms of cultural nuance and history, blonde hair on Black women really holds a weight to it. We see Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Queen Latifah and we think about women like that, and they are statement makers, they’re icons, they’re fashion and beauty legends. It’s as if having blonde hair as a Black woman is almost [like] a protest against the machine, so to speak. It gives this vibe that says, ‘You’re not gonna dictate what beauty can look like on me’ and so I love that you’re a blonde bride.
KI: Being blonde is my whole personality, girl. It just empowers you. It’s very different. It’s a totally different vibe. I say to every Black girl that they should go blonde at least once. Darker blonde, honey blonde – just go blonde for a little second. I’ve always been a person who’s been very sure of myself and been very confident, but I feel like my confidence has gone up. I feel like it lightens me up, it brightens me up internally; and, you know, I feel like I get why Beyonce’s blonde all the time. It’s honestly a movement in itself. Don’t let the outside noise deter you from not doing what feels most authentic to you. Even being plus size.
The world sees plus size people as an anomaly and it’s like, we are more than that. We are ourselves before we’re fat and plus size. I’m just so glad there’s these new waves of women who are fighting the system and just saying, ‘We’re going to do this. This is what we’re about. We’re going to wear what we want.’ And I feel like I live by that same code too.
There were a lot of people in the Muslim community who were upset at my outfit for the nikah. Usually they wear a really long dress or a long shirt dress and pants. But I decided to wear a langa because I felt like that’s what I would feel more confident in. And I told my mother-in-law and she was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it!’ Once the pictures hit the Internet, people were not happy. They were just like, ‘I can’t believe it. Why would you wear something like that in the Mosque?’ But I felt confident.
KL: Speaking of, getting into your first wedding look, walk me through the process of crafting it all, the tradition of it all, and what it meant to represent your husband’s culture on your big day and merging that.
KI: As far as crafting the look, I went to a few Desi bridal shops and I just wasn’t finding a dress I loved. I couldn’t find anything. And my mother-in-law was like, ‘Wait, I have a friend, let’s talk to her!’ It was two months before our wedding which meant crunch time and so we sent my inspo.
Throughout the process, I think I changed the color of the dress twice because I wanted more of an off-white ivory color. And then we got down to the sequins color, which was the stressor for everyone! They had to hand dye the sequin and get it from another city.
And when I finally saw it, I bawled my eyes out. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The amount of work and detail on my dress is not like what you see a lot with, many Pakistani bridal outfits. Usually, it’s a little more simple. And so when I decided I wanted a very spring-upbeat wedding and that I wanted pastels, I realized it was not a common thing. But I was just like, ‘Well, I want to do it. Let’s do it. I think it’s going to be so fab.’ Aand I’m all about doing different things. We’re already an interracial couple. So why not?
KL: My jaw dropped when I saw your dress. Just from watching your content, it felt so true to you. Again, I feel like sometimes brides can either go the super classic route, because they feel like that’s where they have to go, or they go on the other end of the spectrum and think they have to be Carrie Bradshaw, and wear a bird on their head. But your look felt so so true to you and that’s what I love so much about your style perspective— even outside of bridal hood specifically, you just feel very, very authentic and true to yourself, not like you’re trying to follow a trend, but instead, you are the trend. The clothes never wear you; you’re wearing them.
You’re one of the coolest influencers out right now. Why has it been important for you to document your bridal style and your overall bridal journey on social media with your influencing platform? And what do you hope to represent for brides?
KI: I felt like it was important for me personally to document my journey because I am the type of influencer where I don’t show a lot of my personal life or share a lot personally speaking. I’ve always just kind of been a private person, but I’ve also had this strong community, especially on Instagram, of people who have been following me since I had like 3,000 followers. So, it just felt important to share this aspect of my life because I really don’t share pretty much anything else. And I’ve always just gotten DMs.
“I used to talk about my dating life before and some women would come to me for advice. And I just wanted to show them that they deserve love, too, first of all. That you don’t need to settle. Period. You can marry someone who’s educated, who loves you down, who respects you, who’s loyal to you – That you can have all these things and not settle. I wanted to show my audience that it’s possible. I feel like plus size women get into this space of settling and just staying with men or people who just aren’t good for them. And you don’t have to do that.” – Kiarra
“I’m not even the beauty standard of plus size women, like I’m an apple shape? I don’t have hips, I barely got booty – I’m not the acceptable plus size body shape that people always see, but I’m out here getting loved. I’m out here getting princess treatment. And it can happen for you too. ” – Kiarra
KL: You just gave such great advice for women in love, but I want to close this out by having you give some style advice to brides looking to curate their wedding looks of their dreams.
KI: This will sound very cliche, but stay true to yourself and I really mean true to yourself. If you are a street wearer, if you are a funky type of dresser, I feel like your wedding look should look like that. Like you said earlier, don’t worry about anything being ‘timeless’. Take that out of your brain. Really stick with your fashion sense and what you truly like, because you don’t want to look back and be like, ‘I didn’t even like this dress on me, I just did it because it was chic or timeless.’ Get the funky dress, be cool on your wedding day. It’s your wedding day. Just stay true to yourself.
Engagement Editorial Credits:
Photographer: Jonathan Macias @photosbyjmacias
Look #1: Dress: L’mour Bridal Boutique
Look #1 Suit: Abercrombie
Makeup done by bride.
Hair by Shelbi Grant @shadesbyshelbi
Look #2: Dress: Nova Luxe
Look #2 Tights: Calzedonia
Look #2 Suit: Abercrombie
Look #2 Shoes: Stan Smith
Look #2 Jewlery: Popular Jewelry
Wedding Credits:
Photographer: Jonathan Macias @photosbyjmacias
Bridal Lehenga, Grooms Suit and Bridesmaid Dresses: Sadia Hashir (Sadia’s Collection)
Makeup: @misscandicerenae
Hair by Shelbi Grant @shadesbyshelbi
Bouquet: @brejaelynn
Written by Kennedi LéShea.
